Display signs



R. S. BRITTON DISLAY SIGNS Dec. 9`, 1958 Filed Dec. 30, 1957 42 FlamINVENTOR. -Al Ph STEVE/V 3K/NON SPECIAL ATTORNEY.'

United States Patent DISPLAY SIGNS RalphV Steven Britton, New York, N.Y., assigner to Inco Industries Manufacturing Corp., New York, N. Y., acorporation of New York Application December V30, 1957, Serial No.705,849

7 Claims. (Cl. t0-140) so asto enableanydesired arrangement of suchmembers ,to be connected together Withoutthe need for` externalorauxiliary means.

A further object of the present invention is to provide interchangeableelements fora displaysign having self- `contained sign supportingmeansthat are automatically masked from view in response `to attachment of`each such member with the next adjacent member, whereby the sign may besupported upon any stationary object Withsuch supportingmea-ns -hiddenfrom view.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide novelsupporting means for stacking pre-arranged j rows of. display signmembers together so as toprovide a composite sign that hasself-contained means for supporting engagement with a stationary memberof substantially` any type. i

A more specific object of the present invention isto provide a displaysign that is built of detachable and interchangeable elements which maybe secured together with a complete absence of any external or auxiliarylinking devices, suchthat the completed-sign is completely devoid of anysuch additional elements that might otherwise detract from theattractiveness and beauty thereof.

Another objectof this invention is to provide a sign in which pins orrails function as an easel to support the sign at varying angles and theheads of the pins or rail are so meshed by the sign elements that theyare invisible from the front, and locked in place.

All of the foregoing and still further objects andadvantages of thisinventionwill become apparent from a study of the followingspecification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing,wherein:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a sign made in accordance with thepresent invention.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational View of one of the standard membersforming the sign shown in Fig. l.

Fig. 2a is a cross-sectional view taken alo-ng line 2a-2a of Fig. 2.

Fig. 3 is a rear perspective view of the member shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a rear elevational View of an auxiliary member.

Fig. 4a is a transverse cross-sectional view taken along due-.4a of Fig.4.

l ire Fig. 5 is a rear elevational view of an end member of the signshown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5a is a transverse cross-sectional view taken along line 5a5a ofFig. 5.

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal cross-sectional View of certain parts of thesign shown in Fig. l and an associated support connected thereto.

Fig. 7 is a transverse cross-sectional view taken along line 7 7 of Fig.8.

Fig. 8 is a perspective View of a bridge ,member forming another part ofthe present invention.

Fig. 9 is a rear elevational view of a plurality of standard membersconnected in stacked relationship by means of the bridge member shown inFig. 8.

Fig. l0 is a perspective View ofa inodied form .of adapter used tostackdissimilar sign members together.

Fig. 1l is a perspective View of a stacked arrangement embodyingtheadapter shown in Fig. 1.1.

Fig. l2 is `a transverse `cross-sectional view taken along line` 2-l2ofFig. `l1.

Referring now to the drawing and more particularly to Figs. l to 3thereof, a display sign 20 made-in accordance with the present inventionis shown to be partially made up of standard sign members 22 that aremore clearly illustrated in Figs. 2, 2a, ,and 3. Each such standardmember 22fincludes a face plate 23 `and` a laterally outwardly extendingL-shaped side extension 25. A forwardly extending leg 26 of the sideextension ZS'is `provided with spaced countersunlr bores 27 thatextend`perpendicularly therethrough to therear face '29.; The rear face isprovidedwith a pairioflaterally spaced apart and parallel pockets 30Vwhich are of j substantially `the same size and shape as the leg 26;;Thus,whenia pair of these standard .elements 22` are connectedtogetherin the manner shown in Figs. l and 8, the rearwardly extendingleg 26 of one such member forms a male connecting element that isfrictionally received within the outermost female pockettl of the nextadjacentmemben The thickness of the other legofthe L-shaped sideextension 25' is accommodated within the recessed .end wall El so as toprovide a Hush t engagement on both the front and rear sides of the`connected elements.

In Figs. 4 and 4a of the drawing, auxiliary sign members 33 are shown toinclude a face plate 34 and a similar L-shaped side extension 36 thathas `a rearwardly extending leg 37. A plurality of countersunk bores 38also extend rearwardly through the 'leg 37 for purposes :hereinafterdescribed. The rear face of each auxiliary element ,33 is provided witha single leg` receiving `pocket d1 and a recessed end wall 42 foraccommodating the male fastening elements of the next adjacentsign.rnen1ber.`

ln Figs. 5 and 5a of the drawing, a still further modified form of signmember 45 in the form of any endior finishing element is shown toinclude a face plate 47, a single pocket i3 in therear side thereof, anda recessed end wall 49. These members 45 are primarily intended to forma cap orl mask for a laterally outwardly projecting L-shaped sideextension of the member atthe end'ofieach row` of connected sign units.As such, it has no side-extension and merely has a single `pocket`iti'for receiving suchfleg of the next adjacent sign member, as shownin Fig. l.

Referring now more` specifically to'Figs. 6 and 7` of the drawing, itwiil be noted that attaching elements in the form of pins '50 may beextended rearwardly through either the upper or lower countersunk bores27, 38, of the standard and auxiliary members 22, 33, respectively, inorder to formaneaselor base for supporting acomplete sign at any`desired angle on any desiredsurface 51. The `countersunk boresaccommodate the heads of the pins or other similar fastening means,while-the overlapping face `plateof the next adjacent sign member maskssuch pins and countersunk bores, whereby such fastening and attachingmeans are locked in place and are completely hidden from View. lfdesired, other types of hangers,rpedestals, or-securement means may beextended through the countersunk bores for similar purposes, and forsupporting such sign on any desired stationary member. f

It is also possible to stack rows of such signs in vertically spacedrelationship by means of an auxiliary bridge bar S2.V This bar has acentral cutout 53 that will accommodate the webs of vertically stackedsign members 22 formed by the adjacent pockets 30, as shown in Fig. 9,whereby the formed spaced legs 55, 56 are frictionally receivable withinsuch pockets 30.' These legs 55, 56 are of substantially the same sizeand shape as the legs 26, 37 of the laterally outwardly extendingL-shaped side extensions of the standard and auxiliary members 22, 33,whereby they may be received within the innermost such pockets while theoutermost pockets are used to receive the legs of the next adjacent signmembers in each row.

With further reference now to Figs. to 12 of the drawing, an adapter 57is shown which can effectively secure dissimilar rows or dissimilar signmembers together. For example, any dissimilar sign member 58 having ahorizontal web 59 that may be supported upon the top of any of theaforementioned standard or auxiliary members may be positioned in themanner shown in Fig. 1l with the face plate 60 extending forwardly inthe same direction as the face plates of the regular sign members. AnL-shaped plate 63 having one leg of substantially the same size andshape as the male leg 26 of the standard member 22 is receivable withinone of the pockets 30 of any standard member. The other leg of theL-shaped plate 63 extends upwardly and across the adjacent webs as thetop and bottom of the main 'and dissimilar members, while a transverselyextending plate 64 that overlies both legs of the L-shaped plate `isreceivable within the pocket 61 of the dissimilar member and engageablewith the top surface of the web 59 of the dissimilar member. It willthus be recognized that this adapter frictionally secures such partstogether Vso that substantially any type of sign may be fabricated fromthese prepared and detachably interchangeable units.

By furnishing a kit of various numbers of these sign lmembers, bridges,and adapter units, substantially any type of sign may be readilyfabricated for display and advertising purposes. The finished sign maybe supported upon any desired stationary object through the use of theself-contained and masked countersunk bores by using pins 50 or othersuitable hangers. When so displayed, the signs present a completelyfinished and tailored appearance, are of unique design, and ofparticularly neat construction.

While this invention has been described with particular reference to theconstruction shown in the drawing, it is to be understood that such isnot to be construed as imparting limitations upon the invention, whichis best defined by the claims appended hereto.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

l. A display sign comprising a plurality of discrete interchangeablemembers detachably connected together in a row in side by siderelationship, each of said members having a front face andrearwardlydisposed complementary male and female portions, the male portions ofeach one of said members being releasably frictionally engageable withthe complementary female portion of the next adjacent member, at leastone of said male fastening portions having a headed pin extendedtherethrough for securing said sign upon a stationary object, and saidfemale portion of the member next adjacent to said one male fasteningportion overlying the front of and masking the head of said securingmeans.

Vplurality of interchangeable intermediate members, a

2. A display sign as set forth in claim l, wherein said male portioneach comprises a laterally offset bar spaced rearwardly from said frontface, and each said female portion comprises a rearwardly opening pocketof a shape similar to the shape of said bar.

3. A display sign as set forth in claim 2, further including means forstacking a plurality of said rows comprising a bridge in the form of abar having a central cutout defining a pair of similar discrete legs,said bar extending transversely of said rows, and each of said legssubstantially corresponding in size and shape to said female pockets ofsaid members, and said legs being releasably and frictionally engagedwithin transversely aligned ones of said female pockets of said membersin said stacked rows.

4. A display sign as set forth in claim 2, further including means forsecuring a dissimilar sign member having a longitudinal rearwardlyfacing ledge carried upon said row of members comprising an adapter inthe form of a pair of intersecting plates, one of said plates being ofsubstantially L-shape and the other of said plates being ofsubstantially rectangular shape, said other plate being perpendicularlyconnected to a ledge of said L-shaped plate and being spaced from andoveri lying the other leg of said L-shaped plate, said other leg of saidL-shaped plate being of substantially the same size and shape as andfrictionally engaged within said female pocket of one of said members insaid row, and said other rectangular plate overlying and frictionallyengaging said ledge of said dissimilar sign member.

5. A display sign comprising a plurality of discrete interchangeableelements, each of said elements having self-contained male and femalefastening portions for connection t o complementary portions of anadjacent similar element, removable headed pins for supporting saidsign, said pins extending rearwardly from said male fastening portions,said female fastening portions overlying and concealing the heads ofsaid pins.

6. A display sign as set forth in claim 5, wherein said male fasteningportions are releasably frictionally received within a complementaryfemale portion of the next adjacent member.

7. A font of sign indicia members adapted for detachable interconnectionin a row in side-by-side relationship to form a display sign, said fontcomprising a plurality of auxiliary members, and a plurality of terminalmembers, each of all of said members having a front face, the frontfaces of at least the intermediate members bearing indicia, and each ofall of the members having means for interengaging with an adjacentmember, said means on all but the terminal members having a verticallydisposed tongue or tennon extending forwardly from the back of saidmember in parallel spaced relation to one side edge. of said member,each of all of said members having a vertical recess adjacent the otherside edge of and extending toward the front of said member and each ofsaid tongues being releasably frictionally engageable with the recess ofan adjacent member, said tongues each having at least one bore extendingtransversely therethrough, a headed pin extending rearwardly through atleast one of said bores, its head being concealed and secured in placeby the overlying portion of the next adjacent and interfitting member,all of said members being of uniform thickness throughout, and said pinsextending rearwardly beyond the back surface of said members to serveselectively as an easel for supporting the display sign in backwardlytilted relation or as means to secure the sign to a vertical support.

References Cited in the file of this patent FOREIGN PATENTS 722,533Great Britain Jan. 26, 1955

